That being said, there
are some artistic expressions that simply stand out and make your jaw
drop. This year, the Temple
of Joy impacted me more than anything else.

**

It is the third creation
designed by David Best. He designs intricate, massive structures using
discarded wood from a toy building factory. You know those wooden dinosaur
bone kits you can buy and assemble? David takes the remaining “waste”
wood and makes architectural miracles with it.

When I first arrived,
the Temple crew was still building it. A massive crane and a sizable
construction crew worked well into the night trying to get it completed.
The topmost spire reached 100 feet into the air. The white unfinished
wood seemed to glow under the bright construction lights.

Huge. Intricate. Awe
inspiring.

And somehow it was
all made more amazing by its impermanence.

“They are going
to BURN this on Sunday night?”

Wow. So much effort
for a result that will only exist for a short amount of time.

But that is one of
the underlying themes of Burning Man: Everything is Transitory.

Without
death, life would have no meaning.

Without destruction,
can creation have meaning?

I’m not sure the answer.
But I know that the imminent burning of the temple definitely magnified
the piece’s power.

And it destroys the
notion of art as something to sit behind glass in a gallery or museum.